The 2025 Senior World Championships will take place in Zagreb, Croatia, from September 13 to 21. The 65 kg weight class in men’s freestyle will be in the third group of weight classes wrestled at worlds this year on September 16 and 17. Team USA’s Real Woods is making his world championship debut in a deep field that includes world/Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka, world champion Rahman Amouzad, and world/Olympic medalist Sebastian Rivera. Check out the article below for a full breakdown, along with our medal predictions, for 65 kg at this year’s World Championships.

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65 kg 2025 World Championship Rankings

The above rankings are based on results from head-to-head matchups. United World Wrestling seeds off of Rankings Points accumulated over the past year at the Olympics, Continental Championships, and Ranking Series Tournaments. Check out the full 2025 World Championship Rankings Here.

65 kg World Championship Seeds

1. Rahman Amouzad, IRI
2. Kotaro Kiyooka, JPN
3. Vazgen Tevanyan, ARM
4. Ali Rahimzade, AZE
5. Khamzat Arsamerzouev, FRA
6. Sebastian Rivera, PUR
7. Ibragim Ibragimov, RUS
8. Sujeet Kalkal, IND

The Favorites

• Kotaro Kiyooka, JPN - 2024 Olympic Gold
• Rahman Amouzad, IRI - 2024 Olympic Silver, 2022 World Gold

After the Olympics last year, Kiyooka and Amouzad enter the World Championships as the favorites to win gold at 65 kg this year. Kiyooka’s gold medal performance last year in Paris, along with his dominant win in the finals over Amouzad, makes him THE favorite to win gold in Croatia. Kiyooka is an incredible athlete with lightning-quick leg attacks and a lethal leg lace. He’s already recorded victories over many of the top competitors in the field, defeating Sebastian Rivera, Ismail Musukaev, Abdulmazhid Kudiev, Takoto Otoguro, and several other top wrestlers in the world at 65 kg and 70 kg. 

Despite Kiyooka’s accolades and victories, history shows us it’s incredibly difficult to stay on top for any significant period of time at 65 kg. In fact, no wrestler has ever won gold in consecutive years at 65 kg. You’d have to go back 66 kg with Ramazan Sahin in 2007 and 2008 to find a wrestler who won gold in consecutive years at worlds or Olympics. Simply put, 65 kg is consistently one of the deepest weights in the world and this year is no different. Prior to the Olympics last year, Kiyooka suffered a loss to Haji Aliyev, and then after the Olympics, Kiyooka lost to Nachyn Kuular (up at 71 kg). All of this to make the point that Kiyooka isn’t a lock to win again this year and will have to run through a gauntlet of wrestlers to repeat for gold.

Kiyooka’s win over Ismail Musukaev:

Rahman Amouzad will look to get back on top of the podium after finishing with a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics. Amouzad won Worlds in 2022 but failed to reach the podium at the 2023 World Championships with a 5th place finish. Amouzad might be the biggest wrestler in the bracket and absolutely has the best underhook. He uses his underhook to set up most of his offense and wrestles at a pace few can withstand. Amouzad is capable of dominating anyone in the bracket, but his performance in last year’s Olympic final against Kiyooka makes me hesitate to pick him to win gold this year.

Amouzad’s win over Real Woods:

The Contenders

• Sebastian Rivera, PUR - 2024 Olympic Bronze, 2023 World Silver
• Islam Dudaev, ALB - 2024 Olympic Bronze, 2017 & 2018 U23 World Bronze
• Vazgen Tevanyan, ARM - 2023 World Bronze, 2022 U23 World Gold, 2021 U23 World Silver (at 70 kg)
• Abdulmazhid Kudiev, TJK - 2024 World Bronze (at 70 kg)
• Ibragim Ibragimov, RUS - 2025 Euro Gold, 2023 & 2024 U23 World Gold
• Sujeet Kalkal, IND - 2024 U23 World Bronze, 2022 U20 World Bronze
• Bilol Sharip Uulu, KGZ - 2024 U23 World Bronze, 2022 U17 World Silver

The above SEVEN wrestlers show the true depth of this weight. Four of this group have medaled on the senior level and worlds/Olympics, and the other 3 wrestlers have age-level world medals to their name. As an Olympic and world medalist, Sebastian Rivera is the most credentialed wrestler of this group. Rivera, a 4-time All-American for Northwestern and Rutgers, has been a force on the senior level with victories over Tulga Tumur-Ochir, Vazgen Tevanyan, Sujeet Kalkal, and several other top wrestlers in the world. Rivera has outstanding leg attacks and also great par terre offense with both a leg lace and a gut wrench. Rivera is also never out of a match and has recorded some amazing come-from-behind victories over Tevanyan and Sujeet. 

Watch 5 Incredible Sebastian Rivera Matches:

Islam Dudaev, a Russian who represents Albania, was a surprise medalist at the Olympics last year, winning the other bronze medal alongside Rivera. Dudaev has had up-and-down results over the past few years, but when he’s wrestling his best, he’s capable of defeating anyone in the bracket based on his victories over Gadzhimurad Rashidov and Ismail Musukaev. However, because of his past inconsistencies, I have a hard time seeing Dudaev winning gold or even making a run to the finals.

Armenia’s Vazgen Tevanyan is another dangerous wrestler in this field who has reached the podium at Worlds in the past. Tevanyan has outstanding defense and is a solid turner if he gets on top. Tevanyan’s hit list includes wins over Ismail Musukaev, Haji Aliyev, Vladimir Khinchegashvili, Abdulmazhid Kudiev, Yianni Diakomihalis, Sebastian Rivera, and Joey McKenna. At just 25 years old, Tevanyan is likely just reaching his prime, and that could mean we could see the best performance of his career this year in Croatia. 

Tevanyan's win over Joey McKenna:

Abdulmazhid Kudiev is the final wrestler in this group who has won a senior world medal. Kudiev, another former Russian who now represents Tajikistan, brought home a bronze medal from Worlds last year at 70 kg after failing to qualify for the Olympics at 65 kg. Kudiev is also only 25 years old and has at least 3 past victories over 2023 world bronze medalist Shamil Mamedov. I expect Kudiev to be competitive with everyone in this field and, depending on his draw, I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a run to the finals. 

Kudiev's win over Mamedov at the 2023 World Clubs Cup:

Ibragim Ibragimov will be Russia’s representative this year at Worlds and will be competing in his first senior-level World Championships. Still, Ibragimov will bring with him incredible experience and has won gold at 2024 U23 Worlds, the 2025 Yarygin, the 2025 European Championships, and 2025 Russian Nationals all in the past 10 months. Though he did suffer a surprising defeat to Bilol Sharip Uulu at the Albania Ranking Series Tournament, Ibragimov has all the skills to win gold in Croatia.

Ibragimov's win in the 2025 Russian National Finals over Abasgadzhi Magomedov:

India’s Sujeet Kalkal will also be making his debut at Senior Worlds and will be riding some momentum after his performance in July at the Budapest Ranking Series Tournament. There, Sujeet won gold by defeating Ali Rahimzade, Vazgen Tevanyan, Khamzat Arsamerzouev, and Islam Dudaev. Beyond that performance, Sujeet has past victories over Yianni Diakomihalis and Lachlan McNeil. Sujeet wrestles a style similar to Amouzad centered around his relentless style. He’s not the most defensive wrestler, but Sujeet is solid in all positions, and at 22 years old, there’s a strong chance we haven’t seen him hit his peak.

Sujeet's win over Yianni:

Kyrgyzstan’s Bilol Sharip Uulu is the final wrestler that I consider a contender in this bracket. Sharip Uulu has several high-level leg attacks and has fantastic par terre offense. At the Ranking Series Tournament in Albania this year, Sharip Uulu used a trap-arm gut wrench to defeat Ibragimov by tech, 14-4. Beyond that win, Sharip Uulu also notably won a bronze medal at U23 Worlds last year and is still only 19 years old. 

Sharip Uulu's win over Ibragimov:

Sleepers & Landmines

• Real Woods, USA
• Nachyn Kuular, KAZ

Real Woods is a first-time senior world team member for Team USA and has remarkably only been active on the senior level for about 6 months. Despite the inexperience, Woods has proven to be a dangerous wrestler at 65 kg with a highly effective head pinch and gut wrench. He’s currently 14-3 on the year with his only losses coming against Rahman Amouzad (11-2) and Aden Valencia (5-3 and 5-4). Woods avenged the Valencia loss and was leading Amouzad at the break before giving up 9 unanswered points. Woods has the athleticism to match anyone in the bracket, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him wrestling in a medal match at Worlds. 

Real Woods' win over Joey McKenna at Final X:

Nachyn Kuular is the other wrestler in this field that should be considered a sleeper/landmine. Kuular was one of Russia’s top 65 kg wrestlers for years before transferring to Kazakhstan this year. Kuular won a U23 world title in 2017 and has placed at the Yarygin 4 times and Russian Nationals 3 times. Kuular also defeated Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka in October of last year in a German wrestling league match. It’s worth noting that match did take place up at 71 kg, but it still shows how dangerous Kuular can be if he’s wrestling his best.

Kuular's win over Kiyooka:

65 kg World Championship Prediction

The level of talent at 65 kg makes this bracket incredibly challenging to predict. If any of the top wrestlers aren’t at peak form, they’re vulnerable to getting upset by any of the contenders. When predicting gold, I lean toward choosing the wrestlers who have consistently proven they can get the job done at the highest level. So, wrestlers like Kiyooka, Amouzad, and Rivera are the safest bets for gold this year. However, I think Ibragim Ibragimov might be the most complete wrestler in the field, and his gold medal performance at 4 big-time tournaments over the past year shows he knows how to navigate deep brackets. Because of that, Ibragimov is my pick for gold this year at 65 kg. 

Full 65 kg Medal Predictions

Gold - Ibragim Ibgragimov, RUS

Silver - Kotaro Kiyooka, JPN

Bronze - Rahman Amouzad, IRI

Bronze - Sebastian Rivera, PUR